Intel's Classmate and the OLPC XO notebook fight it out in the market place despite partnership

When the One Laptop per Child Foundation first proposed the $100 laptop aimed at developing nations, it wasn’t long before Intel came along with its own super low cost laptop aimed at the same demographic called the Classmate PC.

For a while, the OLPC XO laptop and the Classmate from Intel were bitter rivals. That rivalry ended when the OLPC allowed Intel to sit on its board of directors and Intel invested cash into the project. What seems strange is that while Intel and the OLPC Foundation are now partners to some extent, the XO and Classmate laptops still fight it out in the marketplace.

BBC News reported recently that Uruguay purchased 100,000 XO Laptops and optioned an additional 300,000 XO laptops. Many wondered if the production delays for the XO laptop would make it possible for the OLPC Foundation to fill the 100,000 XO order for Uruguay.

Intel declined to comment on the price of the Classmate notebooks purchased by Libya, but did say it had not subsidized the cost of the machines. The Classmate notebook was first said to be priced at $250.

Reuters also reported that Libya has agreed to purchase the Classmate notebook rather than the XO laptop.

I think there are full fledged notebooks going out for 400 dollars out there.Besides, OLPCs are the ones supposed to be only sold to governments, while the EEE PC is targeted towards the retail market first.